Sushi Oku

Sushi Oku (鮨 奥)

⭐⭐⭐⭐

🍣 Sushi / 📍 Asakusa

📓 Visits: 1 (2022)

Katsuji Oku was previously second chef at Hashiguchi in Asakusa, which has now closed, and is not to be confused with the very highly regarded (and still open) Sushi Hashiguchi in Akasaka.  Omakase (the only option here) was previously JPY 16,500 but increased to JPY 22,000 in 2022.  The restaurant was awarded a Michelin Star in the 2023 Tokyo Guide.

No faffing around at the start with the first item of hirame being served 5 minutes after everyone had sat down.  The best items in the set where the hokkigai served at the perfect temperate and the murasaki uni.  Kuruma ebi was huge and had good flavour but was a bit tough.  Toro was much better than the akami zuke, which did not have much flavour.  Buri had a very mild flavour.  The only fault in temperatures was with the taco, which was a bit cold.  Neta are very large.

The atmosphere was relaxed and although chef was softly spoken and didn't initiate conversation, even with regulars, he chatted when prompted and smiled throughout.  No English is spoken but the only Japanese you'll need (if any) is when chef asks you what size of shari you'd like.  I asked for 'standard' to start with but it was tiny so I asked for large from the second nigiri onwards (two regulars asked for large from the off).  Rice was very mild in sourness.

The course was completed in well under 2 hours but I skipped the kanpyo (already full) and didn't order anything else.  Overall I thought 20K was reasonable for a full omakase course of sushi of this quality in Tokyo in 2022.  There were no major faults but there was nothing outstanding and I wasn't as impressed by the sushi as much as I was at Sushi Matsuura, Sushidokoro Yamato and Sushi Nishizaki, which are the best value full-course sushi restaurants in Tokyo at the moment, though much harder to book, which is probably why.

📌 https://tabelog.com/tokyo/A1311/A131102/13257709/

❓ My Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐ 4.0

📱 Booking: 🟧  A month in advance by phone.  Lunch on Tuesdays and Saturdays only.  No English spoken.

📍 Location: 

3-42-12 Asakusa.  15 mins on foot from Iriya, Tawaramachi and Asakusa stations.  Dedicated street-facing entrance.
Map data ©2022 Google

📶 Free WiFi? ❌ No

📅 Visit December 2022

Hirame
Aoyagi
Taco
Fugu kawa, hotate chawanmushi
Kaki shoyu-zuke
Fugu shirako yaki
Amadai suki-yaki
Kohada (nigiri)
Akami zuke
Toro
Buri
Kuruma ebi
Tairagai
Hokkigai
Murasaki uni
Owan
Anago
(Kanpyo)
Tamago

💴 Damage: 20,000 inc. tea
⏱️ Time taken: 1h45m (minus kanpyo)